good morning, i'm willie geist and this is "way too early," the show that wakes up for the show by funneling a 72-ounce 7-eleven mountain dew every morning. glad you're watching or listening live on sirius xm radio. shoot me an email or tweet me @williegeist 1 or text me. that's what regis does, followed by the word awake, to 622639. i think that went well. we'll read the best responses later in the show. the next 30 minutes will be your cram session for this thursday, november 17th. a lot going on, including the latest on newt gingrich's well-paying relationship with freddie mac. more detail this morning. plus, jerry seinfeld and david letterman settle a red-hot jealous feud over regis philbin, that clip later. but first, the news live at 5:30

a.m. here at 30 rock in new york city. president obama is heading to bali right now, after wrapping up a two-day visit to australia. although his trip will not take him to china, the u.s. relationship with that country took center stage. the pentagon deploying u.s. marines now to australia as the united states flexes its military and economic muscle in the region. >> i have therefore made a deliberate andqsñ strategic decision. as a pacific nation, the united states will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future. our enduring interests in the region demand our enduring presence in the region. the united states is a pacific power and we are here to stay. >> the troops will be stationed in darwin, australia, beginning next summer. we go live now toç darwin, thas where we find chief white house correspondent, chuck todd, chuck, i was going to say thanks for waking up for us, but this is good for you, this is the only timeky get you on "way too

early." >> it is, in fact i come from the future. you know we're ahead of you, on the other side of the dateline. so i can tell you what your future is going to be. that is the president is now in bali. he actual i just landed there moments ago. as soon as we wrap up all of our morning show duties, all of the white house press corps will be following him there. you played i think the relevant bite there of his speech to parliament. it's really, willie, been the theme of this trip. which is taking a more confrontational tone with china, on the economic front, but then also even with this move of 2500 troops over time. they're not all coming at once. they'll be stationed frankly right here in darwin, australia. and already, the chinese government is not happy about it at all. which tells you while it's only 2500 troops and it's still hundreds of miles away, they, they see it for what they think it is, which is, this attempt by the united states to provide a

little bit of a counterweight. >> and chuck, it wasn't just military. earlier in the week, the president talking about the currency manipulation by china. so going after economics and military. what's the strategy here from the white house? >> well look, politically as you know on the campaign trail, we've heard china-bashing is very popular. number one, number two, when you look at all of these emerging economies, all of the growing economy here's in this asian-pacific region, a lot of the smaller countries, indonesia, malaysia, countries like that, they've got some booming economies and they don't want china to be theirç bigges partner. the united states wants it to be the united states. being a player here. and i think the united states believes if they can get some of these countries together, so one of those trading partnerships that they've been trying to develop is something called the trans-pacific partnership, a collection of asian-pacific countries not named china, if you will.

and to create this group to try to put some pressure on china to play by the rules. and ultimately, all of these moves are about china playing by the rules. including the military move, willie. this is about some concern that australia, the philippines, some other allies the united states have, about the military maneuvers that china has been making in the south china sea. >> and as you point out, china expressing some concern about those marines that are going to set up shop in australia. while i've got you chuck, i've got to talk a little 2012, texas governor rick perry out with a new ad with remarks going after president obama about comments he made about american businesses being lazy about their pursuit of foreign investment. here's the ad. >> we've been a little bit lazy over the last couple of decades. >> can you believe that? that's what our president thinks is wrong with america? that americans are lazy? that's pathetic. it's time to clean house in washington. it's time for a balanced budget amendment that forces washington to stop overspending.

if congress balks, cut their pay. send them home. obama's socialist policies are bankrupting america. we must stop him now. i'm rick perry and i approved this message. he grew up in a privileged way. you know, he never had to really work for anything. when he has had problems, he's pointed to somebody else and said it was their çfault, not mine. it's like his thinking that he can go and negotiate because of his great debating skills. any place in the world. we've seen a number of examples of that where it's just been an abject failure. and as a matter of fact, his thinking that he's the smartest guy in the room has hurt america around the world, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. >> governor perry going back to the socialist attack in the ad and talking about the president being pril privileged last night on fox news and he had mitt romney saying i don't think president obama gets america.

what's your take on that? >> well, the confrontational tone is what they, about half of what the republican electorate wants to hear. tea party, the populace conservative wing and other republican electorate. they responded to rhetoric before. the first version of rick perry, if rick perry is going to get one more look from the not mitt romney wing of the republican party, this is probably the best strategy he can take at this point. he doesn't have the positive ratings, he doesn't have a reservoir of support to start going after romney. needs to somehow become a player again. going after the president like this with more confrontational language is one way to do it. if he can get that second look, so far there's no evidence that this, this populace conservative part of the republican party going to be willing to give him a second look. that said, i have to say, willie, since his debate gaffe, i think he's had a pretty good,

we're now, i'm not sure what time zone or date i'm in, but we're in about seven days since that and it's not been a bad, probablxç been the best week tht rick perry's had on the campaign trail. we'll see if he can move any numbers. >> he's dug himself a big hole. he'll have to do some work to get out of it. chuck, we'll see you when you get back. >> you got it. you missed the whole justin bieber thing. >> we're going to play that later, trust me, coming attractions. a homeless man from idaho is now in custody after he allegedly took shots at the white house on friday. oscar ortega hernandez was arrested at a hotel in western pennsylvania yesterday, is due in a pittsburgh courtroom today. officials say the suspect was quote obsessed with proel and believed he was on a personal mission from god to attack the white house. nbc's justice correspondent, pete williams, has more from washington. >> investigators were carefully

checking the white house, looking for other possible rifle rounds like the one that hit a window. it's on the truman balcony, third floor, inside is the yellow oval room near the family living quarters, officials say it damaged the historic glass, but was stocked by a bullet-resistant layer, a security feature on the white house windows. on the south lawn below, agents with metal detectors looked for more rounds, only two have been confirmed, but agents want to know if other pock marks they've discovered could mean other rounds hit. investigators are virtually certain the shots were fired last friday night, about 9:00 p.m. from a car speeding along a nearby street. the shots came from here on constitution avenue, about half a mile south of the white house. they were fired from a car moving in that direction, apparently by the driver. firing across the passenger seat and out the window. that distance equal to nearly eight football fields is around the limit of the useful range for that kind of assault rifle,

thought to have been used. the car was found abandoned a few blocks away with theç rifl left insides, it was traced to a 21-year-old homeless man from idaho, oscar hernandez. authorities say he has a long record of minor crimes in three states and may have mental problems. he was arrested in indiana, pennsylvania, by state police, federal agents have told staff at a local hotel there that he had stayed there earlier. >> alerted them to the fact that this subject had been there in the part and may come back in the future. and that if he did appear, that they were to notify local law enforcement and the secret service. >> the white house has been a target before. a colorado man against gun control, francisco durand, fired more than two dozen rounds from the pennsylvania avenue sidewalk in 1994. no one was hurt, he got 40 years in prison. as for this latest shooting, authorities are considering serious charges, possibly attempted assassination. wow, nbc's pete williams reporting for us from washington this morning. protesters are on the move in new york city this very moment. as supporters of the occupy wall

street movement prepare for more wide-scale demonstrations. police are gathering outside the new york stock exchange, where organizers are planning a 7:00 a.m. march aimed at snarling the morning commute. protesters also taking their message underground, occupying the subway system at key stops around the city on this, they say, the second, the two-month anniversary of their movement. several labor unions expected to join in on an afternoon rally before demonstrators cross the brooklyn bridge to mark the two-month anniversary. organizers hope the city's recent crackdown will inspire more people to join what they call a national day of action. the city's deputy mayor says officials are ready to respond today. now to long beach, california, where the state university system dealing with the aftermath of some violent protests last night. students clashed with police outside a cal state board of trustees meeting where officials were voting2to increase annual tuition fees by 9%. in an effort to deal with state

budget cuts. protesters shattered a door, sending one police officer to the hospital. the tuition hike is the ninth increase for cal state students in less than ten years. not just students getting in on the act today, hundreds of faculty members planning to strike at two campuses to protest the university's decision not to pay negotiated pay raises. the school system says it just doesn't have the money after it lost more than $650 million in state support this year. this will be the first faculty walk-out in the history of the 23-campus system. overseas, the arab league is giving syria three days to stop the violence there, or risk a new round of economic sanctions. the group also wants international observers let into the country. fighting continues between the assad regime and opposition forces. government tanks are leading the assault. even as more soldiers turn on the regime, to join the revolution. just today, forces loyal to president assad struck the central city of amah, rounding up dozens of opponents. more than 3500 people have been

killed in syria's eight-month-long uprising. still ahead here on "way too early," university and municipal police in state college, pennsylvania, dispute the claim made in an email by penn state assistant coach, mike mcqueary, that he went to the police in 2002 when he saw coach jerry sandusky in the shower a young boy. details on that story, just ahead. plus six days now, for the deficit reduction supercommittee to meet its deadline. jon stewart checks in to see how things are coming along at the hall of justice. ç i have never profited, ner profited from public service, i've earned every cent. and in all of my years of public life, i have never obstructed justice. and i think, too, that i can say, that in my years of public

life, that i welcome this kind of examination. because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. well, i'm not a crook. veir - yohe. ht b e t neou ♪

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making your craving for a sweet & salty bar irresistible, by nature valley. 5:46 in the morning, a look at aç beautiful live picture o the empire state building lit up in red, white and green, the beginning of the radio city christmas spectacular. let's check the weather with bill karins. >> we were talking about the tornadoes we were dealing with yesterday. we've got some pictures that were happening 24 hours ago right now from houma, louisiana, where one of the tornadoes went through. 17 in all yesterday from louisiana to mississippi. all wait up through the carolinas, i know we got hit hard in south carolina, north carolina, unfortunately there br five fatalities and dozens injured were this rare tornado outbreak. i say rare, they happen once a year in november.

this was our one day of it. let's show you the map. everywhere you see the red triangles is where we had the tornadoes reported. a widespread outbreak and a lot of damaging wind with the storms. they're over with. the only thunderstorms we have to deal with now, just went through jacksonville, florida, they're going to sing down towards daytona beach and orlando and tampa throughout the morning. no tornadoes today. just your typical garden-variety thunderstorms. now in the areas of the east, heavy rain yesterday, miserable airport delays, now we've got some clouds left and some showers. that's the kind of weather you're going to have today. so around d.c. and baltimore and philly, you are going to see a little bit of light rain. so if you don't want to get wet at all, do carry the umbrella. heavy rain is over, on and off showers for the big cities and the temperatures will be about ten degrees cooler today than yesterday. so add a layer, either the heavier jacket or maybe a lighter coat underneath or something like that. middle of the country, temperatures are cold, willie, but that's where we should be this time of year. you know, back to normal i guess is kind of the general rule of thumb. >> we don't like normal.

>> we want extended indian summer. but it looks like it's over. police in pennsylvania pushing back on claims made by penn state assistant football &q=!1ñ mike mcqueary who said he reported the alleged rape of a boy by jerry sandusky in the team locker room in 200. the campus and state college city police departments say there's no record of any report from mcqueary. that contradicts a recent email from mcqueary, who told a friend, he not only discussed the incident with authorities, but quote, made sure the abuse was stopped. sandusky remains free on bail today, as a new judge takes over the case. judge leslie dutchkot is being replaced after it was revealed she donated money to the second mile, the charity sandusky reportedly used to meet his alleged victims. the university, meanwhile, is also under fire. a new "u.s.a. today"/gallup poll shows 24% penn state imposed appropriate limits on the football program. one-third say they have more negative view of the university

in light of the scandal and 66% support the decision to fire joe paterno, the school's coach. coming up, newt gingrich explains his allegedly lucrative relationship with freddie mac. will it satisfy republican primary voters? we'll discuss that with our crew. and when we come back we'll huddle around the water cooler to watch seinfeld and lettermen fight other regis. that clip when "way too early" comes back. [ female announcer ] from the moment we arrive... we don't want anything to slow us down so it's surprising that most women aren't getting enough calcium. with over 25 flavors, yoplait original gives you 50% of the daily value of calcium in every cup. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach.

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as a congressional supercommittee scrambles with less than a week to go to shave a little more than $1 trillion if our books, new figures show how deep a financial hole this country is in. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends the national debt for the united states has now passed the $15 trillion mark. or roughly $48,000 for every man, woman and child in the nation. that's the first time the united states has passed that number according to the website, usdebtclock.org, who said our debt has soared 267% in the last 11 years. let's talk about the final days of the reign of regis, his final show with kelly ripa is tomorrow, ending 28 years on daily morning television.

yesterday, his friend, david letterman came to pay his respects. >> let me ask you a couple of things about this. here's the cover of "newsweek" magazine. there you are with jerry -- >> jerry. [ applause ] >> how many times has engineer judge put you on his show? oh, i forgot, jerry doesn't have a show. wow. >> look at that. >> here it is, come on, come on, pops, the buffet is open, let's go. come on, it's the early-birdç special. >> can't regis and jerry have some fun together. >> and then bingo tonight, dad. >> thanks, dave. >> and as luck would have it, jerry seinfeld, the man on the cover with regis philbin showed up on letterman last night where they resumed their little feud. >> look at this here. ladies and gentlemen. >> that's me and rege.

i heard that irked you a little bit. >> as i was saying to regis, he's been on this show a million times. and i said to regis, how many times have you been on jerry's show? oh, i forgot, jerry doesn't have a show. >> you think i had something to do with this? >> i want to know more about your relationship with regis. when did you become friends? >> i wouldn't say that we were friends. >> oh. well then -- >> no, i, he and i, we've -- been out a couple of times to eat. you've done that. okay. so we're about, you know, the first time i had dinner with him like ten years ago, he said how many years do i have to do this. when is it going to be over. and i told him, never. >> tough decision to make. >> well you guys, you and him, these are pope jobs. that's what you have. >> pope jobs, and regis' run as the pope ends tomorrow on "live

with regis and kelly." last night, jon stewart checking in on the super committee, let's see what he found. most of the deficit reduction will be proposed by a so-called supercommittee. >> yes, the supercommittee. a group of 12 lawmakers, who gained their powers after having beenç bitten by a radioactive accountant and are called upon to slash our deficit. go forward, supercommittee, the fate of the nation is in your hands. >> it's supercommittee can't even agree on anything. >> they can't even agree on what's going on at their meetings. >> some of the complaints is that senator john kerry is talking too much in the closed-door meetings. >> really? john kerry? talking too much? of course he's talking too much, that's his superpower. >> pretty good superpower to have. we just learned last week that billy crystal is going to take over for eddie murphy and host the oscars. yesterday we learned who is hosting the golden globes again, it's a good one, ricky gervais

is back, despite the fact that he steamed about half the audience last year. the hollywood foreign press association acknowledging that quote, not everybody is happy with the decision to bring him back because his blunt, within-liners targeting big-name celebs caused anger and resentment. he went after mel gibson, bruce willis and robert downey junior last year and he said next year will be ten times as bad. still ahead, why are you awake, your heartfelt tweets texts and emails are coming up. is this a chevy volt? [ stu ] yeah. it's electric. i don't think so. it's got a gas tank right here. electric tank, right over here. an electric tank? really, stu? is that what you pour the electricity in? it's actually both, guys. i can plug in and go 35 miles gas free, or i can fill up and go a whole lot farther. is that my burger? oh. i just got bun. i didn't even bite any burger.

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[ woman ] wow. that's amazing. how do you people choose these stories? the number one story right now on msnbc.com, number one, everything happening in the world, here it is, a former write-in candidate for arizona governor has been found homeless in the ukraine. the alleged victim of an internet dating scam. harry delgeo said he traveled to ukraine this spring for a research project and to meet a woman he met online. what is this? the u.s. embassy reportedly plan doing help him get back to the un